Kidnap victim found near Little Falls; abducter still at large

Dennis Wayne Aason, a 39-year-old Mounds View man, is still on the run, after allegedly abducting and beating his girlfriend, who was abandoned near Little Falls.

The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office received a request Thursday evening, from the Pope County Sheriff’s Office asking that deputies check Highway 10 near Little Falls for a woman who had been abducted from Pope County. The woman and her vehicle were found about 7:40 p.m. south of the Fourth Street overpass on Highway 10 in Little Falls. The woman appeared to have been severely beaten and said Aason, her ex-boyfriend, had abducted her and left walking when their vehicle had broken down.

The victim was taken to St. Gabriel’s Hospital. Officers from the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office, Little Falls, Pierz, Royalton and Baxter Police Departments, Minnesota State Patrol and the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office, searched the area with a canine and helicopter until 10 p.m., without locating the suspect.

Officers continued patrolling south of Little Falls until 3:30 a.m. when the search was terminated.

Aason was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. He has very short or no hair and a goatee. Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel said there is no reason to believe the suspect is still in the area. The Pope County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension continue to investigate.